What does it look like?

Apple, clearly satisfied with the design principles it’s more or less stuck to since 2014, has chosen to continue with its familiar one small (4.7-inch), one big (5.5-inch), design convention with the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus respectively, meaning it bears a strong resemblance to its predecessor. Same tastefully curved edges, same slight rear-facing camera bump, same familiar circular home button resting just below the display.

Like the iPhone 7 Plus, it has no circular headphone jack, so you’ll have to either use the included converter in the box for your wired headphones or make the switch to wireless. I actually prefer wireless headphones, so this was never a deal deal for me personally. The volume buttons and silencer switch are still on the left hand side of the body, with the power button and SIM tray on the right. The phone is also still water and dust resistant, so a quick dip in the sink no longer spells disaster and a trip to the Genius Bar.

While it looks similar initially to its predecessor, Apple has spiced things up in terms of materials. The 8 series marks a return to glass, after 2012’s iPhone 5 ushered in a stainless steel body, which later turned to anodised aluminium. The front and back glass panels are the most durable ever used in a smartphone, the company claims, set in a new steel substructure in a choice of three finishes: silver, space grey and a pretty pinky gold Apple decided to call just ‘gold’.

In all three, the colour name refers more directly to the aluminium band bordering the glass. While the band itself of the iPhone 8 I tested is silver, its glass back is a milky white, and the iPhone 8 Plus’ gold’s coppery pink band is offset by delicate blush-coloured glass. How much you’ll care about this is largely down to aesthetic preference, but I think they look and feel beautiful.

The iPhone 8 Plus’ buttons are in all the familiar places (Photo: i)

Unlike the vast majority of highly-polished or glass-backed phones, the iPhone 8 Plus doesn’t require constant wiping to get rid of fingerprints thanks to a combination of the pastel backdrop and oleophobic coating, meaning any marks or smears are much less noticeable than on glassy rivals like the Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 and the Nokia 8. It’s also gained a few pounds: while the iPhone 7 Plus weighed 188g, the iPhone 8 Plus clocks in at 202g.

Making a (wireless) connection

The extra weight is worth it. Apple needed to shake up the iPhone’s appearance a bit, and glass is an attractive and stylish way to do it. Of course, there’s a heightened chance of it slipping out of your hand, and the slippery back means the handset is prone to sliding down surfaces with the slightest gradient. But the benefits of glass outweigh the potential pitfalls due to one key advantage – wireless charging. While Android handsets have embraced a cable-free existence for years, Apple has been reluctant to make the switch until now. My theory is that the company’s been waiting for the right time to build a wireless eco-system, one chief design officer Jony Ive hinted at during the iPhone 7 launch last year when he called the wireless AirPod headphones “just at the beginning of a truly wireless future we been working towards for many years”.

Wireless charging means you can slap the new iPhones down on any Qi-standard charging pad – which includes older pads not manufactured by Apple, a highly unusual move for a brand fond of sticking to its own chargers, eco-system and accessories – and leave it to charge, no wires required. Another welcome bit of news is that the phones can charge on pads through cases, so you won’t need to prise them out every time you need to top up your battery.

I tested the wireless charging capacity on a Mophie pad, and found I needed to place the handset on the disc pretty squarely in the centre to get the best results. Because the phone has to be flat on its back to charge, you might want to move it into a spot where it won’t disturb you if the phone lights up while you sleep if you’re charging overnight, as well. I learnt this the hard way.

Wireless charging may not be new, but it is useful. Apple’s adoption means more public spaces, cafes, restaurants and libraries etc will start installing the charging pads, and it’s likely we’ll see an influx of furniture with in-built pads, as Ikea did a few years ago. I, for one, am fully onboard. The fewer cables I have to carry round, and the more devices I can charge wirelessly, the better.

The iPhone 8’s display has been overhauled to make it more reactive to your environment due to True Tone technology. True Tone was first created for the iPad Pro a couple of years ago and effectively balances out the white light in the display to make it warmer, which in turn makes it easier to read text. The most obvious difference comes from using the handset in direct sunlight: I found myself squinting less and seeing more. Win win.

It’s also markedly brighter than the iPhone 7 Plus’ display. The same picture displayed on both handsets appears distinctly crisper and brighter, even with True Tone turned off for comparison.

Zippy processor and iOS 11 – what’s it like to use?

The first thing I noticed after turning on the iPhone 8 Plus was just how damn fast it is. Its new A11 bionic processor has transformed the iPhone from a capable device into an absolute powerhouse, as the chip makes switching between email accounts, apps, loading web pages, videos and games a breeze because there’s no lag whatsoever. It’s also significantly faster than the iPhone 7 Plus I was previously using, in fact, an average of 21.5 per cent faster, according to a GeekBench test I ran to test the chip’s single-core computing power (or how quickly the processor can complete a variety of tasks).

By my calculations, the iPhone 8 Plus is an average of 179 per cent faster than Samsung;s Galaxy S8, 138 per cent faster than the Galaxy S8+ and 133 per cent faster than the Galaxy Note 8, based on single-core performance. While these are only metrics, they are fairly staggering. In terms of raw power, Apple is running rings around Samsung.

The aluminium band bordering the glass is a deeper pinky gold shade (Photo: i)

The phone runs iOS 11, Apple’s newest operating system, which is full of useful updates centered around efficiency and utility. The new Do Not Disturb While Driving feature prevents you from receiving notifications while you’re in a moving car (though I also found it was triggered by riding the Tube), you can now directly see which playlists and tracks your friends are listening to through Apple Music, and the Files app is a handy way to keep tracks of documents and pictures stored in your iCloud drive. It’s a genuinely great new piece of software, from the slide-down from the top of the display to return to the lock screen, to the enhanced facial recognition within Photos, all the tweaks are universally handy and easy to use.

Both handsets sport new speakers which have been repurposed to deliver richer, more well-rounded sound, that’s much bassier and has greater depth than the 7 generation.

Augmented reality is the future

Apple is the first major mobile manufacturer to (rightfully) make a big deal out of augmented reality (AR), with a view to layering digital animations – a bit like holograms – into our real-world environment through millions of iPhone camera lenses across the world. I tested apps Sky Guide, a gentle walk through the constellations in the sky above you at ay given moment determined by your location, fighting robot game The Machines and Insight Heart, which conjures up a gruesome thumping human heart for you to walk around and examine. It’s oddly engrossing to walk right up to a dilating ventricle through the prism of your smartphone screen.

Much like virtual reality, AR’s applications are manifest: gaming, education, reference, retail and communication. While Pokemon Go was the first AR app to really filter through the public consciousness, ARKit has the potential to help developers succeed where Microsoft’s disappointing HoloLens has failed – and you don’t even need a headset.

What about battery life?

When I use the iPhone 7 Plus, its battery life lasts around 12 hours, give or take 30 minutes or so. The iPhone 8 Plus, after moderate use (web browsing, receiving and answering emails, texts and WhatsApps, listening to music), is pretty much the same.

TIP: You can fast charge your iPhone 8 using a Mac power brick and a USB-C-to-Lightening adaptor: up to 50 per cent power in half an hour

This is no surprise – Apple has acknowledged battery capacity will remain more or less the same, which is a shame given wonders the beefy A11 chip has worked on the handset’s overall speed.

What’s the camera like?

The iPhone 8 Plus camera, like the iPhone 7 Plus before it, sports one telephoto and one wide angle lens, each at 12MP. The A11 chip has been put to good use in the form of new features within Potrait, the mode which brings a subject to the forefront and artfully blurs the background, known as bokeh. Portrait Lighting contains a choice of natural, studio, contour or stage light, the latter of which is available in colour or black and white, on a revolving wheel.

PORTRAIT MODE EXPLAINERNatural Light The face of your subject is focused, while the background is blurredStudio Light The subject’s face is illuminatedContour Light A flattering picture mode which combines natural-looking highlights with deeper shadowsStage Light The subject’s face is dramatically lit, spotlight-styleStage Light Mono The same lighting effect, but in black and white

While some of the enhancements are more subtle than others, all dramatically improve the overall appearance of photographs of humans thanks to the facial mapping powered by the A11 bionic chip. Contour Light bathes the face in a pristine, illuminating glow, and Stage Light smudges the background with a theatrical, charcoal-like filter which looks appropriately theatrical.

Natural LightStudio LightContour LightStudio LightStage Light Mono

Once you’ve taken a photo using one mode, simply pressing edit allows you to scroll through the other modes to ensure it wouldn’t look better in another. For example, Stage Light looks really effective when applied to a closely-cropped portrait, but often misapplies the shadow on wider shots it’s unsure where the foreground and background divide.

These are the kind of updates consumers want to see in iPhones – clever tweaks to the apps they use daily. The colours of pictures taken using the standard camera app are more true-to-life with greater levels of depth, making it the best iPhone camera to date.

So, should you buy the iPhone 8 Plus?

In news that should surprise no one, the iPhone 8 Plus is an expensive phone. It starts at £799 for 64GB of storage, and rises to £949 for the 256GB version. Those are your only options; Apple has chosen to ditch all other storage sizes in an effort to refine the line, and neither are exactly cheap. But I’d argue the other flagship handsets don’t measure up to its build quality. The iPhone 8 Plus is the best phone of its size, hands down.

The iPhone 8 Plus in gold (L) side-by-side with the iPhone 8 in silver (Photo: i)

If you’re caught between the two new handsets, I’d recommend the iPhone 8 Plus over its smaller counterpart on the basis that a) I feel bigger displays are optimal for making the most of iOS 11, especially the AR apps, and b), larger screens are my personal preference.

If you’re after a high-quality phone with a large screen, value a sophisticated camera set-up and are committed to iOS, the iPhone 8 Plus is solid choice. If an even bigger screen appeals and you’re willing to fork out £50 more, you may be better off going for the iPhone X once it goes on sale in November. This is, perhaps, the biggest factor working against the iPhone 8 Plus – that a new handset with facial scanning, Animoji and an incredible OLED display, both sharper and brighter than LCD. So bearing that in mind, I’ll have to say the iPhone 8 Plus is the best iPhone you can buy. But only for now.

Rating: 4.5/5

Pros:

Beautiful glass redesign with wireless charging for the first time

New Portrait features are fantastic

Incredible speed bump which runs rings around the competition

Cons:

Expensive

Battery life could have been better

Large screen size won’t be for everyone

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